Page 41 of Forsaking All Others

“For my ring,” I answer over my shoulder, not looking back.

30

“Falcon.”

“Jag, I hadn’t thought to hear from you so soon.”

‘I hadn’t thought to ring so soon.’

“I apologise if this is a bad time.”

“Not at all, what can I do for you?”

“I need a favour.”

There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, but as I’d hoped, he doesn’t let me down.

“Of course, name it.”

“I need you to track down whoever is chasing Catriona and destroy them before they can impact upon The Games any further.”

“Catriona? The Italian? She’s admitted she’s the one being pursued?”

“Yes.”

“That makes sense. Very well, consider it done.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

He hangs up and I stare at the phone for a long, long time. Something is up, or off. There’s something wrong, but he isn’t telling me what it is, isn’t sharing with me his worries as he once did. Either it’s because we’re still getting used to one another again, he doesn’t trust me still, or it’s something too terrible to contemplate, and he doesn’t want to burden me with it, as he said before, while I’m trapped inside this game.

Either way I’ll find out soon enough. At least I won’t have to worry about the fucking mafia attacking again and derailing the Game.

“But what’s going on with you, Falcon?” I murmur as I dial Wolf’s number.

31

I sit in the bedroom and shake my head, the latest challenge having just been announced, and all four of us still trying to come to grips with it.

“This sucks,” Evelyn says, breaking the silence.

“It’s unprecedented,” I mutter. “This whole Game is going to shit.”

“I don’t understand,” Thorun shrugs, “a challenge is a challenge. What’s so unusual about this one?”

“Thorun,” Evelyn says in the cool, measured voice that she uses whenever she speaks to the Icelander, “challenges are either group or individual — and either way it’s up to us to decide whether we work with others, make alliances, or choose to operate individually. This challenge forces us to work with people we may or may not prefer to see live.”

“But we all share a room,” Thorun replies, her expression confused. “Why wouldn’t you want any of us to live?”

‘I can think of half a hundred reasons. Not the least of which is that Evelyn has a sneaky hidden alliance with the twins from hell, the slutty pom, and the goddamned female version of Steve Irwin. Sona has a voice that would make cats cry, and my fingers itch to strangle her, and you ask more questions than a two-year-old.’

“It doesn’t matter,” I snap, “it doesn’t matter what we want. We’ve been told that we have to operate as a team for this challenge. Every contestant must work only with those they share a room with. And the last room will be eliminated — every competitor in that room.”

“How can we work together when we hardly know one another!” Evelyn shrieks, pulling at her hair like a two-year-old.

‘And I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.’